An entrepreneurial day

 I sold some things at a sort-of craft fair this week. I say 'sort of' because it was actually the monthly meeting of the U3A (University of the Third Age) which they decided to open up as a craft fair but not allow the public in - therefore limiting the customer base to the c. 60 elderly attendees only.  But tables were free so I thought I might as well give it a go. I collected various makes of mine languishing around the house and under beds, put silly prices on them to at least recover the cost of materials, and had a trial set-up on the dining table.  DH gave me a lift and I set out my wares.

My things were admired, and after a slow start  I sold three handbags, several draw-string gift bags, and some pincushions and small things.  I almost sold a quilt, a couple really loved it but decided that even at the rockbottom price of £85 (which probably doesn't cover the materials cost) that it was too much for their budget. It was nice to send various things off to new homes where they will be appreciated and used, and I made a grand total of £76.  It was exhausting and I'm glad it's over but it feels good to have yet more clutter out of the house.

Also on display was the little group project of 5"x7" boards that I contributed to, each with a path so that all the paths connected. Mine is fourth from the right.

When I got home, there was a Facebook message from a woman who wanted to buy all the Rowan yarn I had listed on Marketplace after my knitting room clearout - so that's also gone off to a new home. That's all the unwanted yarn gone now except for one bag of Sublime - I took a bunch of odd balls to the charity shop and the rest went on the charity table at the quilting retreat. 

I finished the Book Nook Kit.  There were a few pieces left over so I had to backtrack in the instructions and work out where they were supposed to go.  These Chinese kits mainly have pictorial instructions with some English sentences, which don't always make sense.  The end result is a bit crude but I like it, it reminds me of all the little covered shopping arcades we've been in for a cup of tea and some shopping around the UK.  The mirrored perspective is cleverly done, and the lights add a bit of magic. They are controlled by touching the icon on the front.

Feeling a bit on a roll, I have now pulled out the bigger kit for a Japanese style house that I bought a few years ago.  Same sort of thing, with a million pieces in various bags. The first job is to go through all the bits and compare them to the inventory in the instructions - I'm missing a couple of things and a couple are broken but nothing that's a deal breaker.

I added some borders to the Sewing Panel wallhanging and I think it's done now (apart from stitching around the appliqued letters).

So I've started working on  piecing blocks for the embroidered blocks quilt kit that I bought in Paducah.  I started embroidering the blocks back in Japan, and they are all done now except for the massive centre block which I'm still working on. Obviously I haven't pressed the embroidery yet and it will need to be trimmed to the correct size.

I've got all the fingers done on one of my Shetland handwarmers and I'm working on the other one now. I'd like to get them done so I can move onto one of the stranded patterns I bought up there.

You have probably noticed that my new-to-me Handiquilter is not getting mentioned - that's because I haven't really used it yet.  While the scaffolding was up and I was on call for the builder, it wasn't practical to be up on the top floor running a machine. That's been down a few weeks but I've been quite busy with other things. I don't have any simple tops to load up, everything waiting for quilting is going to require some skill - which I don't have yet. I should keep practicing on the practice sandwich but I think I'm a bit daunted to be honest. Must try harder.